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Stop Kony. The Invisible Children Video And A New Idea of Justice

Earlier today my son told me the Stop Kony video had hit 7 million viewers. By the time I got to my computer a couple of hours later the number had risen to over 9 million. It went over 10 million views as I watched it (the video is 29 minutes long).

For those who haven’t yet followed the rise of the video, it has a very important message: in a world where over 700 million people are connected via Facebook shouldn’t we be able, collectively, to ensure certain types of justice through our collective will?

This is a deeply important question and maybe a troubling one for people in positions of power. It matters to the generation of people for whom instant connectivity is a normal part of life. It will give meaning to their belief in personal empowerment through instant communications. In fact it will validate the idea of empowerment.

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this video is really inspiring. i just posted it on my facebook, and i hope that all of my friends will be able to see the video and want to stop Kony’s actions. thank you for publishing. as for i will try to do everything i can to help stop Kony.

today is still 3/7/12 but it is now 10pm and this video has way over 11,000,000 views. Kony will be stopped. and if it continues like this, over 1 million views in a few hours. something has to be done. and i hope it will be done soon. seeing this video makes me want to do something, makes me want something to happen, and those people in Uganda, the children, to be saved. i had no idea about this before this video, and i am very surprised that it was not known about earlier considering that we do have the internet. but now that its out, it will blow up and we need to do something about it.

I agree Brianna – my son brought it to my attention and it is horrifying to imagine him in this situation. Still, I am left asking does this inspiring and very fast emerging movement do if opinion or visibility is not enough?

Children should come first in the world. I seem to remember a few brief news bits about this going on throughout the years. Shows us how important the media in general thinks this is. Instead, I get lame “reality television” shows. Well, this is a real reality, is it not? Conflict like this for the US is a worthwhile investment. I will post this to my FB page and share. I will also call/email state my Senators.

Children should come first in the world. I seem to remember a few brief news bits about this going on throughout the years. Shows us how important the media in general thinks this is. Instead, I get lame “reality television” shows. Well, this is a real reality, is it not? Conflict like this for the US is a worthwhile investment. I will post this to my FB page and share. I will also call/email my Senators.

That’s the point of this movement, isn’t it, that we now connect without borders so we start to think of actions that are not bound by national interests. We are connected by the moral strength of an argument or need instead. I think that is going to be very disruptive.

It labels KONY 2012 as a “fauxtivist fad” and suggests its governing charity, Invisible Children, to be an ineffectual NGO with poor accountability. Worse still, it asserts that IC uses the monies raised to support expensive travel for its key players and props up the Ugandan government which itself is alleged to to be guilty of the very crimes that KONY has been committing with impunity.

I’m struck by the final paragraph of the article. It’s disappointing… The idealist in me would delight in their being a clear and simple way by which to “capture the Bogeyman”, thus saving lives and safeguarding the welfare of innocents.

Yet: “There is no black and white in the world. And going about solving important problems like there is just serves to make all those equally troubling shades of grey invisible.” The Daily What